Tagged: The World is Flat RSS

  • Gaurav Mishra 2:47 pm on April 24, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , The World is Flat,   

    Introducing Flat or Not, My Weekly True/ Slant Column 

    Welcome to Gauravonomics Blog! Subscribe to my feed now and you'll never miss a single post!

    I have spent the best part of the last two years studying the intersection of technology and society, first as a marketer using internet and mobile technologies to connect with consumers, and then as a researcher studying and teaching digital activism, and dabbling in it.

    I have been writing about how social media changes society, in good, bad and ugly ways, at Gauravonomics Blog, which has a small but engaged readership now. My hope is that my weekly True/ Slant column, Flat or Not, will help me spread these ideas to a mainstream audience.

    The name Flat or Not, as you might have noticed, comes from Thomas Friedman’s seminal book ‘The World is Flat’. At the core of the book is the very valid idea that we live in a connected world, thanks to internet and mobile technologies, and that creates new challenges and opportunities. The rather misleading title, however, has misled many readers to conclude that the world is indeed flat, that internet and mobile technologies have converted us into global citizens with similar cultural references, values systems, and aspirations.

    Authors tend to overstate their case in order to sell books, and my research on the intersection of technology and society has shown me that the world is hardly flat, or even flatter than before. Internet and mobile technologies are like alcohol: they strengthen the tendencies you already have, give you permission to engage in behavior you already want to.

    So, I have seen that internet and mobile technologies enhance both similarities and differences, within and between societies. They transform some of us into cosmopolitan, global citizens and others into entrenched nationalistic bigots. They makes open societies even more open and closed societies even more closed. Sometimes, they isolate us from the society we physically live in and plug us into a virtual world of like-minded misfits.

    It’s important that we understand these dynamics at the intersection of technology and society, in order to benefit from the best and avoid the worst technology has to offer. Understanding these trends has profound repercussions for our personal lives, as citizens and consumers, and for our professional lives, as members of business, civil society and government organizations.

    Every Friday, on Flat or Not, I’ll share a story from the intersection of technology and society, with a focus on the emerging world. My hope is that over time, in the aggregate, these stories will help you understand if technology is indeed making our world flat, or not.

    Cross-posted at Flat or Not, my column at True/ Slant.

     

    • Harmanjit Singh 11:57 pm on April 24, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      I agree with you on the amplification, rather than the broadening, effect of internet. It provides mechanisms to vindicate what one already holds true, and to revel in like-minded company.

      it is a narcissistic medium.

      I have written on the flip side of the internet (but also celebrated its capabilities). I look forward to reading your articles and blog.

    • Vijay Rayapati 11:52 am on April 26, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      While I agree with certain points I don’t understand how technology is making closed societies even more closed – I feel the other way – it provides a platform for anybody to connect , share and engage whether they are from open societies or closed societies.

  • Gaurav Mishra 6:41 pm on May 10, 2008 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Eric Beinhocker, , Globalization, Indian Social Network, Infosys, Nandan Nilekani, Pankaj Ghemawat, Redefining Global Strategy, Rough-correlated, Semi-globalized, , , , , The Origin of Wealth, The World is Flat,   

    The World is Not Flat and Neither is the Social Web 

    Quick Summary: I’m starting a new series on why the social web is not flat and why it’s a good thing.

    - X – X – X –

    It has been fashionable for a while now to describe the world as ‘globalized’. Ever since Thomas Friedman’s ode to globalization, ‘The World is Flat’, became a runaway bestseller in 2005, it has also become fashionable to describe the world as ‘flat’. Indians, in particular, have a special fondness for Friedman’s book because Friedman is enamored with the Indian IT industry and the title was derived from a statement by Nandan Nilekani, the former CEO of Infosys.

    While the ‘world is flat’ metaphor has been much abused over the last three years, even Friedman’s original argument (that historical, regional and geographical divisions have become irrelevant in a global marketplace where all companies and countries have a level playing field) is quite exaggerated.

    In a series of posts written over the next few weeks, I’ll establish that the world is not truly globalized, but ’semi-globalized’ (as Pankaj Ghemawat describes it in ‘Redefining Global Strategy’) or ‘rough-correlated’ (a term used by Eric Beinhocker in ‘The Origin of Wealth’).

    In fact, not only will I establish that the world is not flat, I’ll also prove that the internet in general and the social web in particular is not flat either. This is an important argument because Friedman’s ‘the world is flat’ theses is based on the premise that information technology in general and the internet in particular has flattened the world.

    Finally, I’ll establish that it’s a good thing that the social web (and the world) is not entirely flat, because it allows entrepreneurs to exploit opportunities, for instance, to create a uniquely Indian social network or build a social media outsourcing business.

    Watch out for more posts in this series under a new category called ‘Flat or Not’.

     

    • medea 7:32 pm on May 10, 2008 Permalink | Reply

      This is quite interesting, I’ll be following your studies, this is also something I’ve been mulling: internet has’t really brought “everyone” together. Instead, it has made some divisions even wider..

    • Amit 10:05 am on May 13, 2008 Permalink | Reply

      Gaurav would look forward to your posts on this.
      I believe that Flat is a misnormer of sorts and there is still a vast gap in what we are achieving today with internet and what it can do to our lives….

    • Chetan Kunte 12:22 am on May 14, 2008 Permalink | Reply

      Gaurav, those who of us in the thick of it know this fact (that it’s not flat at all) so well that “The World is Flat” is but romanticizing a notion—particularly for an Indian (just because Mr Friedman has some nice stories about India; I like it in particular because my school buddy’s gaming company Dhruva has a mention, but I digress). Best sellers don’t necessarily mean they paint a true picture of the World—that’s too big a canvas for gross generalizations. (Da Vinci Code is a similar tangent.) Try the energy industry for example, and the theory just flies out the window.

      IT industry in general may have had some lee-ways, but Internet and social (monetizing) web, in particular, is hung on to the long-tail. So not flat, rather hyperbolic.

      Would you still want to go through the effort of proving that it’s not flat?

    • Rupesh 3:40 pm on May 14, 2008 Permalink | Reply

      well, I commented on your previous post on social media outsourcing, but didn’t get any follow up by any other visitor..
      let, me know whether you agre/disagree or wat?

    • Gaurav Mishra 10:58 am on June 4, 2008 Permalink | Reply

      First, apologies to all for not replying earlier.

      @Chetan I read the two posts you have linked to. A-listers, the power law and the long tail are all interesting aspects of social media but my focus is quite different. In the ‘Flat or Not’ series, I’ll be basically looking at how internet in general, and social media in particular, is developing differently in different parts of the world. My post comparing the social technographics profile of USA/ Europe with Japan/ Metro China is perhaps a good example of what you can expect in this series.

      @Medea Yes, part of my endeavor in the series will be to study why social technologies can overcome some (cultural and economic) differences, but not others.

      @Amit Yes, part of the endevor in the series will be to study the bottlenecks which stop some countries from fully benefiting from the internet.

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